Power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are increasingly used as replacement for conventional incandescent lamps, for example in motor vehicles. Compared with conventional light-emitting diodes, power light-emitting diodes have a higher power consumption and thus also a higher light yield and are subject to greater heating. Light-emitting diodes are usually mounted on printed circuit boards (PCBs) which can be damaged or destroyed when temperatures are too high. If there is no adequate cooling, a light-emitting diode mounted on a printed circuit board can therefore damage the printed circuit board. The smaller the printed circuit board and thus the lower its capability of removing dissipated power converted into heat, the greater this problem is.